Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 26th of November and we are here again.
I visited the capital city of Denmark, i.e., Copenhagen last week, and as usual, it was a pleasure to pay my native country’s capital a visit. I had some interesting meetings during my two-day stay, and I also had the pleasure of enjoying an open sandwich lunch with a close friend of mine, Mr. Steven Foster who I first got to know in Beijing some 25 years ago.
When his tenure was up at the embassy back then, we even had the pleasure of taking a trip together on the Trans-Siberian railway from Beijing via Ulan Bator to Moscow. He has lived in many places in the world, and as always, he offered great insights into the diplomatic world—a world that is quite different from the world of business…different and yet also in some ways similar. We featured an interview with him some time ago in PCW. At your leisure, enjoy it here.
For anyone who may NOT know what a Danish open sandwich lunch is about, take a look at this picture. I can recommend two restaurants nearby to each other and the Royal Palace well worth visiting. One restaurant is Told & Snaps and the other one is Amalie. You will NOT be disappointed, but after such a nice lunch, you may defer your planned meeting at the Royal Palace or Parliament to later…
On the political front, it does seem that Mr Trump is grudgingly accepting his defeat so that both the US and the world can get on. That, combined with the word that a vaccine against COVID-19 is imminent, does make this rather gloomy time of the year (here in Northern Europe at least) seem lighter.
I again am happy to invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy the interviews below that I managed to make in the past week. First off we talk to COSCO Shipping in Hamburg/Mr. Dennis Von Gogh from a special trade department, and he gives an introduction to a shipping group that is growing by all means both container and breakbulk-wise. Enjoy the interview here.
I then take you to the Lion City of Singapore, and even here, you will be able to find an interesting interview with a most competent shipping lawyer, Mr. Steffen Pedersen, giving his insights on the sometimes murky world of legalities and terms, etc. Watch the video here.
Finally, if you are not exhausted by too much information, I provide you with a re-visit to 3 interviews we had in the past. We speak first to a submersible carrier based in Oslo, Norway, a country famous for pride, salmon and oil but also for shipping. We then visit Mexico and talk to an interesting company there, and we finally round off with an interview in the city of Cape Town, one of my favourite spots for scenery, wine and food and a local project freight forwarder there tells us more.
We, of course, turn off the lights in this week’s newsletter with shipping news, trade intel and wise words.
Before I bid you farewell for now, I wish to advise that I shall be taking a major break during most of December. This means that Thursday the 3rd of December will be the last issue of 2020, and I will be baaaaack (as Schwarzenegger said in a movie) on January 14th, 2021. As we all know, things pile up ahead of us, and taking some real time to also CLEAN them up is a must, so it seems befitting to do just that before a new year arrives.
Until next week, we remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
GPO Heavylift – Oslo, Norway
Interview with
Mr. Torbjorn Holthe
Chartering Manager
Tell us about when GPO Heavylift was established as well as its current ownership. Where does the name GPO come from?
GPO Heavylift was formed in 2015 for the purpose of building and operating four new semisubmersible Heavylift vessels constructed at CSBC Corporation in Taiwan. The present owner of the vessels is a company in Hong Kong, Greenland Heavylift (Hong Kong) Ltd.
The name GPO comes from Greenland Petroleum Operations which is a company the initial owner had available for business when we started up in 2014/15, but this company is not involved anymore, only the GPO name. GPO Heavylift Ltd. is the commercial management company performing chartering, engineering and operation of the GPO vessels from Oslo.
FTGV Transport Logistics Cargo S.A. DE C.V – Mexico
Interview with
Mr. Cesar Santiago Orozco
Owner and CEO
Can you tell us about the history and ownership of FTGV in Mexico?
The company was created in 2012 by my wife, Yadira Galindo, and myself, so it is a family company. We started as freight forwarders, but we have also developed some other trade branches such as project cargo, show business cargo, fairs and exhibitions,, fine arts,, food and beverages, and sport events. We have offices in main ports and borders of the country like Veracruz, Altamira, Manzanillo, Ensenada, Cancun, and Nuevo Laredo.
Global Logistics Alliance (GLA), Cape Town, South Africa
Interview with
Mr. Giuseppe Arnoldi
Chairman of Global Logistics Alliance
Giuseppe, when did you establish your company? I believe from your name that you are originally from Italy? When did you get to South Africa?
I left Italy and arrived in South Africa in 1989, where I was employed by a large freight forwarding company, who wanted to open a branch office in Cape Town. To my joy, my request for a transfer to this beautiful city was accepted.
GLA was established on January 1st 2010 out of the will to create an intimate working environment where our staff can flourish and our clients can experience a personalized and hands-on service.
Analyzing Africa from a Shipping Industry Perspective
Editor’s Note:
Traditionally, MOL has had a strong presence in shipping from Asia to Africa. They are sending out a shipping newsletter focusing on the services of MOL of course, but moreover, it is rather informative concerning Africa trade. See their latest blog post here.
In the first of a series of blogs analyzing Africa from a shipping industry perspective, MOL will look at Africa’s future development and business potential from the perspective of its history and economic structure.
GAC Appointed Carrier Agent for New Dampier-Singapore Liner Shipping Service
Editor’s Note:
GAC is ever expanding, and they are a very strong player in all kinds of shipping—now, sort of a jack of all trades..almost. They just recently signed up to become the agent of a new Dampier/Singapore liner shipping service—traditionally, not an easy to reach Northern part of Australia on a regular basis.
Australia’s largest privately owned shipping company, Sea Swift Pty Ltd (“Sea Swift”), has appointed GAC as the principal carrier agent for its newly-launched Dampier-Singapore liner shipping service, due to start in December 2020.
Pirates Abduct 14 Seafarers From Heavy Lift Ship in Gulf of Guinea
Editor’s Note:
PCW finds it unbelievable that the powers of West Africa are unable to coordinate their efforts and make proper strategies to reduce piracy in their waters. Piracy seems to be now a lot less off the horn of Africa, still a bit in the straits of Malacca, yet West Africa is much more often nowadays in the news.
On Friday, 14 crewmembers were kidnapped from a Chinese heavy-lift ship off the coast of Sao Tome.
According to security consultancy Dryad Global, the heavy lift ship Zhen Hua 7 was boarded by pirates at a position about 80 nm to the northeast of Sao Tome, in the Gulf of Guinea. The ship was drifting at the time of the boarding. 14 out of her 27 crewmembers were kidnapped, and all of the victims are Chinese nationals, according to Dryad.
Sustainable Development, Safety and Freight – International Union of Railways
Editor’s Note:
Shipping is of course not the only solution for freight—albeit the by far most used one. Railways have been expanding recently, and PCW signed up for the newsletter below, introducing the developments in the railway sector mainly to/from and between Europe and Asia.
Samsung to Infuse Rs 5,000 crore to Expand Noida Manufacturing Plant
South Korean consumer electronics major Samsung will invest nearly Rs 5,000 crore in a smartphone display manufacturing facility in Noida.
Kalyon Solar Increases Module Capacity to 1 GW
Turkish PV manufacturer Kalyon Solar Technologies announced it will increase the capacity of its ingot-to-module solar factory in Ankara from 500 MW, currently, to 1 GW by June 2021.
Vietnam to start $4.6bn First Phase of Long Thanh Airport Next Month
Work on Vietnam’s Long Thanh International Airport, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country’s history, is to begin next month.
Australia Picks Massive Tesla-Supplied Battery to Ease Transmission Constraint
Besides the eye-catching scale and the fact that Tesla will supply the project with its Megapack battery product, the Victorian Big Battery is notable for what it will do: act like transmission infrastructure.
MV UBC Sagunto of Western Bulkers Arriving Port of Sodertalje, Sweden from from Penang, Malaysia
Editor’s Note:
Had the pleasure to being invited to witness the arrival of MV UBC Sagunto of Western Bulkers coming from Penang to Port of Sodertalje, Sweden. The vessel arrived to discharge prefabricated housing modules. Many thanks to Port of Sodertalje/TSA Agency/Frontlog for permissions.
www.soeport.se
www.tsaagency.se
www.frontlog.se
Editor’s Note:
The expanded Panama Canal is always a marvel to behold. I was fortunate enough to be there very soon after the opening a couple of years ago attending a conference for the members of the www.clcprojects.com. During a trip to the Canal we happened to meet-up with one of the biggest container vessels able to pass.
